Why? Because every Ham should
have one! Actually, I'm on the waterfront with non-stop marine traffic passing in front of my windows.
(See here)It's great at night and in the fog (we get a lot.)And it works great as a weather radar as well.Click on my QTH below to see details of my location.
(or Click here.)

I
learned the hard way over the years, that a good deal of time is spent
BEHIND the equipment! This time I left about 3 feet on the
backside to get to all those plugs and connectors.On the air since 1958..........

First
licensed in 1958 as WV2CHI, I maintained an avid interest in radios and
electronics throughout my life, with many receivers in the house,
and antennas sprouting from my various homes. However, I let my
licenses lapse as, like many others, I pursued other things in life,
and a career. I was able, however, to lug or place in storage
virtually all of my original equipment. These days they're called vintage, and are much in demand; hams call them "boat anchors!"
After retirement, I returned to ham radio, dusted off my Morse
Code, cleaned and refurbished many of my old pieces of gear, and took
and passed 3 of the 4 available exams. Relicensed first as
KE7BUL, and now as W7DDD (Whiskey Seven Triple Delta), I returned to
the airwaves, with an evolving set of equipment and antennas. In
the past few years, I have made well over 3000 contacts with hams in every
part of the world, from the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor, to the
Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean, the Galapagos to Siberia, from Japan
to Argentina, and literally all places in-between. I've worked all
continents (except Antarctica) and all 50 states, most countries in Europe and South America,
and had a lot of fun.

I was worried that with cell phones, the
internet, satellite TV, and the rest, amateur radio would not be so
alluring. I need not have worried - it's still a terrific high when you
call some guy in Tokyo, Moscow, or Montevideo, with an old tube radio and a
bit of antenna wire, and he answers back. You swap stories and make new
friends in faraway places. And, as Hurricane Katrina proved, when the power
grid goes down, and the cell phones don't work, Hams always get through!

WV2CHI

My Ham Shack in April 1959

Both of those radios are still in my shack today....and both are operational.

KE7BUL

Sitting for my General class license exam.

Now, on to to Extra! (the highest class)

W7DDD

On the air from my wood shop (not very satisfactory!)

My shack - 2005-2008

Antenna Farm

My
antennas are very modest from the perspective of many Hams. No
Beams. No Rotator. No Tower. Most of the time they are
quite stealthy and hard to see, although I have no actual restrictions (just
my own.). I have two unique factors that I have tried to take
advantage of - and they have certainly paid off! I have a large
metal roof that makes an excellent ground plane. And I have large
expanses of salt water spanning one half of the horizon. These
have allowed me to install less than optimum antennas with
extraordinary results. (See Notes at bottom.)